Stop the cheap publicity stunts, state DAP told

Posted on March 17, 2012, Saturday

KUCHING: A state BN leader yesterday criticised the DAP for regularly holding demonstrations, with the latest one held in front of Wisma Pelita here yesterday.

PBB supreme council member Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said state DAP leaders should be more responsible in putting the people’s grouses across instead of disturbing the peace by organising demonstrations, which he described as an ‘alien imported culture’.

“What does DAP want to achieve by holding demonstration? Probably they just want to get some cheap publicity. Do not abuse the freedom of expression that the government grants you.

“DAP has nothing better to do, but to carry out demonstrations and arouse the people to hate whatever the government of the day does. Nothing seems right to them. To them, only Penang government (which is headed by DAP) is the best state government,” said Abdul Karim, who is also Assistant Minister of Youth and Housing, when contacted yesterday.

Yesterday, starting from 11am till noon, DAP initiated a public demonstration in front of Wisma Pelita by involving landowners from at least 10 villages and longhouses from Malikin, Balai Ringin.

It was said that they wanted to seek explanations from Land and Survey director Sazali Kipli over the status of their land.

State DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen, who is also Bandar Kuching MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman, was seen leading the demonstration, and also gave food and drinks to the demonstrators.

Carrying banners, they even tried to enter the building to go up to the Land and Survey Department at Wisma Pelita, but were stopped by security personnel. They then decided to gather outside the building before dispersing not long after that.

The villagers claimed that the Land and Survey Department director had promised to look into their demands to withdraw the provisional lease (PL) awarded to a local company as the areas marked in the PL were actually their native customary rights (NCR) land.

The PL was said to be awarded to a local company whose major shareholder was said to be a former assemblyman. It was learnt that the department, in November last year, had awarded a provisional lease for few pieces of land in Malikin with a total acreage of about 5,500 acres.

The areas marked in the provisional lease were, however, the same land that the locals claimed to have to have been occupied by their ancestors long before independence.

Meanwhile, Sajeli said he was not in the office during the incident. Nonetheless, he commented that it was not right for the villagers to hold a demonstration or come in big numbers over the matter.

“It is not that we do not want to receive them. But do it in the right way.”

He added that his department was aware of the issue brought up by the landowners, and gave an assurance that investigations were still ongoing.